Blue
by TheOwl'sQuill
Summary: Would the story of Avatar turn out different if the gang met a certain mysterious, blue-eyed girl on their travels? See what cards Lanse brings to the table, with her dark past laced with secrets, and see how those cards will change the story.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my second fanfiction, first Avatar fic, and hopefully my first long fic. I plan to write this throughout the summer and hopefully finish it by the end….hopefully. I plan to semi-follow the story line we all know so well, and this first chapter takes place around mid-book 2 (near episode 28 "The Chase"). Now I hate long Author's Notes as much as the next fanfiction lover, so I'll stop here before I start rambling. Now I present to you the story of Lanse! **

**Oh, by the way, I don't own Avatar!**

"I know I'm no fan of flying and all, but why do we have to walk?" Toph whined from the back of the group.

"Yeah Sokka, why are we walking?" Katara snapped.

The group had been walking since early afternoon, after Sokka had suggested they rest at a river they had seen from the air. However, they had seen some Fire Nation soldiers in the area, so Sokka also suggested they land a little ways away from the river, promising he'd remember how to get to it once on the ground.

"Maybe I should fly up and see…" Aang suggested, but as he opened his glider Sokka put out a hand to stop him.

"It's too risky, they might see you!" he said, "I promise we're almost there."

"You said that an hour ago," one of the girls mumbled from the back. Sokka turned around and glared at Katara and Toph, who were now both intently studying the leaves on the trees while whistling non-chanlantly.

"Well if you think you can do better…!" Sokka began to yell, but was cut off by Toph:

"Shhh, listen!"

The group instantly fell silent, listening, trying to hear what Toph had heard.

"…I don't hear anything," Sokka said at last, breaking the silence.

Toph shifted her foot and made a small ridge of rocks rise below Sokka, setting him off balance with his arms pin wheeling.

"Shh! I hear running water the river must be that way," she said pointing, "but something seems…" Before she could finish the group went racing off in the direction she had been pointing. "….off," she sighed.

"Hey! Wait for me!" she yelled running after them.

The river was close now. The three kids rushing towards it now heard its roaring loud and clear, but right before they were about to break through the tree line they ran head first into a wall of stone that rose from the ground in front of them.

"I told you to wait for me!" Toph hissed angrily, trying to catch her breath.

The other gave her questioning looks as they picked themselves up off the ground, noticing that Toph had not lowered her rock wall.

"What's the matter Toph?" Aang asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Before I thought I could sense something starnge by the river, but I couldn't tell what it was."

"Can you tell now?" Katara asked.

Toph crouched down and put her palm on the ground, "It's a person," she said.

"Fire Nation?" Sokka asked gravely.

"I can't tell, but I think they're hurt."

"Should we help them?" they all looked to Aang, waiting for an answer.

"If they're hurt we should help them," Aang replied, looking at the stone wall as if he was trying to see through it.

"But what if it's a trap?" Sokka asked.

"But what if it isn't?" Katara put her hands firmly on her hips, "If they really are hurt we can't just leave them there!"

"Fine!" Sokka said, throwing his hands in the air, "But when you get caught in some Fire Nation trap don't come crying to me!"

The others weren't listening to Sokka's complaining, Toph had already lowered her wall, and they were quietly sneaking through the tree line and into the open. As soon as Aang was clear of the tree line and saw the figure lying on the bank of the river he launched himself into the air, landing next to the figure and pointing his staff at them.

"Well?" Sokka called from the tree line when neither Aang or the figure moved.

"Are they Fire Nation?" Katara asked, ready to open her water pouch.

"I don't think so! I can't really tell!"

"What do you mean you can't tell, Twinkle Toes?" The other finally couldn't take it any longer and approached Aang and the girl.

Yes, girl. She was lying on her back on the river bank, the lower half of her body was still in the water and she was covered in scratches. As Katara bent down to examine some of the deeper scratches she realized why Aang was unable to tell whether she was Fire Nation or not. The girl wore a dark, dull, red, obviously Fire Nation, top that ended just below her chest, showing off most of her stomach. It had three quarter sleeves, but the one on her left ended just off her shoulder and had tattered edges; Katara could see an old, faint scar just below where the sleeve ended. However, she also wore an open, green, obviously Earth Kingdom, sleeveless vest with lighter green designs; as well as dark blue, baggy, Water Tribe pants very similar to Katara's own, but they were altered a bit, cut off and tightened at the knee so there was a small space of fair skin showing between the bottom of her pants and the top of her boots. She even had an orange sash, nearly the same exact orange that Aang wears, tied around her waist. She was wearing clothes from every bending nation.

"I don't think she's Fire Nation," Katara said after a quick look over. She used water from the river and began healing the mysterious girl's scratches, and as her hands passed over that girl's chest she thought she felt a little water there. She carefully extracted water from the girl's lungs and was rewarded with instant coughing; however, the girl did not wake up.

"What's wrong with her?" Sokka asked at last, still skeptical of this stranger.

"I'm not sure, she might just be exhausted, but we won't know until she sleeps for a while." Katara answered, sitting back on her heels and pushing a loose strand of hair back. "Aang, can you lay a couple blankets out on the ground over there? Toph, can you make a good sized earth tent around the blankets?"

"What about me?" Sokka whined, feeling useless and left out.

"Help me carry her into the tent," Katara directed, walking into the water and grabbing the girl's ankles.

Sokka shrugged and grabbed the girl under her arms; noticing that her light brown hair, which appeared to just barley touch her shoulders, was actually pretty long because of a braid that came to the middle of her back, strangely though, it started underneath her hair in the back, which was till only shoulder length.

When they had successfully carried the girl into the rock tent Katara shoed Sokka and Aang out of the tent, saying she had to get the girl out of her wet clothes.

"Wait Toph," Katara called as the blind girl began to leave as well, "aren't you going to help me?"

"Nah," the blind girl replied over her shoulder, "I think I'll unpack my stuff."

Katara narrowed her eyes, glaring after Toph, but decided it wasn't worth saying anything and went to work. Luckily the girl was wearing a black, sleeveless undershirt and black shorts that had stayed dry underneath her clothes. But, as Katara was removing that girl's sash and pants she saw a strange patch of skin just barely visible above her shorts on her left hip.

With the girl now only in her shorts, Katara gasped in shock, seeing that the strange patch of skin is actually a scar, and that scar continued down the side of her leg, ending mid-thigh.

"What's wrong?" Toph asked, surprising Katara and making her jump, quickly throwing a blanket over the girl.

"It's nothing. I thought you were helping unpack." Katara hoped it was too obvious that she was avoiding Toph's question.

"I did, I unpacked my own stuff." She answered, scratching her ear.

"Aren't you going to help with the rest of the stuff?"

The girl sat up suddenly, frantically looking around trying to figure out where she was. She was obviously in a small hut, but it was dark outside and she could hear the river in the background.

"There's something coming!" She heard someone shout. She tried to stand up quickly but was stiff beyond belief. She noticed he clothes, dry and folded on the ground and quickly threw them on. She attempted to hop towards the doorway while pulling on when her second boot, but when she leaned forward and grabbed the edge of the doorway to steady herself, she found her own eyes less than an inch away from large and unfamiliar grey ones.

When Toph woke them up, warning them about the coming machine, Aang quickly ran towards the stone tent to wake up their mysterious guest. But, just as he was about to run though the doorway, he found his own eyes less than an inch away from confused blue eyes.

The first person that entered his mind that would have blue eyes was Katara, and a slight blush started rising in his cheeks.

"Katara?" he asked, still confused because he was sure Katara had been back by Appa.

"What?" replied the very confused and very unfamiliar voice.

Aang jumped back and glimpsed the others were running towards them, but his eyes never left the strange girl in front of him. The girl who, with her brown hair and fair skin, could have easily been from the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom, except she was staring at him with wide confused blue eyes.

"Who are you?" he heard Sokka ask quietly behind him.

The question seemed to knock the girl out of her stupor because the confused and frightened look left her eyes and she lifted her chin, answering confidently:

"My name is Lanse."

**Yay! I'm done with the first chapter! I hope you liked it!**

**Now, for some quick explanations: I realize the scene where Katara is *cough* removing Lanse clothes is a bit awkward and perhaps a tad suggestive, but remember! Lanse does have a tank top type thing and shorts underneath./ The name Lanse was taken from the Chinese word for blue Lán sè, but I took out the accents and mashed it together and got "Lanse" (if you go to Google translate and set it Chinese to English and type Lanse and listen to the result it'll pronounce it for you =D )/ I also plan to put more humor in it once the story gets going a bit more, so do not fear!**

**Please review and feel free to ask any questions! **

**And, as my fanfiction Mommy, IrkenRuler13 (She writes AMAZING Kingdom Hearts stuff!) would say: Flames will be used to bake cookies for my lovely reviewers!**


	2. Chapter 2

**It's time for chapter 2! First, I'm not sure exactly how often I will be able to update, but I plan to have at least one or two chapters every week. I plan to get this done, so if I don't update I give you permission to bury me in messages telling me to get off my lazy butt and write! This chapter continues to take place around episode 28 "The Chase." Enjoy!**

**Oh yeah, I sadly still do not own Avatar.**

"I'M COMPLETELY CALM!" the waterbender girl, Katara, screamed at Aang.

Lanse held back a snort of laughter as she watched the rag-tag group that she had somehow, for the time being, become a part of. She was sitting by Appa, absently stroking Momo. She had been traveling around on her own for a while now, and hearing the voices of others around her at night in camp had become strange. She sighed and leaned her head back, resting it on Appa's soft flank while closing her eyes, still stiff and tired from almost drowning.

_Flashback:_

"My name is Lanse."

"What were you doing in the river?" Sokka pressed further.

Lanse shrugged, "Drowning, I suppose," Sokka face-palmed as Toph smirked, already enjoying the stranger's sense of humor.

Aang looked over the girl again now that she was awake. She looked to be around the same age as Katara, maybe only a year older, and was pretty close to the same height. Even though she had an air of confidence Aang also noticed her muscles were tense, ready to defend herself in an instant.

Suddenly Aang remembered the strange position the girl was in. She had almost drowned and woke up in a strange camp to people shouting and running around frantically, who were now questioning her like she was an enemy.

"Lanse," he stepped towards her a little, "this whole thing is probably really confusing, but there's something coming this way and we have to leave. If you come with us we promise not to hurt you if you don't hurt us."

She narrowed her eyes and stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out if he was lying or not. Aang was just beginning to fear that she would say no and they'd have to leave her there, but everyone jumped as they heard a faint rumble in the distance.

"Fine," she said at last, "but I expect some explanations from you all too!"

After loading the rest of their stuff onto Appa's saddle and getting into the air they saw a strange tank-like machine in the distance.

"What is that?" Katara asked quietly.

"I don't know," Sokka replied; he looked over at Lanse who seemed to be doing fine in the air, except she was tightly clinging to the saddle with one hand.

"But for now," he gave her a meaningful look, "Why don't we get some answers."

Lanse nodded hesitantly, by now she realized that the boy with the arrows is the Avatar, but instinct still would not allow her to let her guard down.

"How about introductions first?" she grinned, figuring it would be best to seem confident and careless.

Sokka stared at her warily, still not ready to trust.

"My name's Aang," said the airbender as he launched himself from the bison's head, alighting on the saddle next to Sokka with a small puff of air.

"My name's Katara," now that Aang had taken the lead the others quickly followed, though Sokka had to make it obvious that he didn't approve.

"So what where you doing in that river!" Sokka burst out before Katara pushed him roughly away.

"So how did you end up half drowned in the river Lanse?" Katara asked, wording her question carefully to avoid any more sarcastic answers.

"I ran into some fire nation soldiers, they don't exactly like my kind and I've had some bad run ins before, but not this bad."

"What do you mean your kind? Where are you from?" Toph asked.

"I'm from nowhere," she grinned, "I'm a traveler, the fire nation hates travelers." Lanse raised an eyebrow as she noticed the glances that passed between the group.

"Where are the people you were traveling with?" Katara asked softly.

"I wasn't traveling with anyone, I've been traveling alone for a few years now."

_End Flashback:_

When Katara and Toph had finally stopped bickering the group finally laid down to sleep, Lanse again borrowing blankets.

"The stars sure are beautiful tonight. Too bad you can't see them, Toph!" Lanse rolled her eyes as she heard Katara's obnoxious comment. Sokka threw his blankets up over his head, but Lanse let out a yelp of surprise as she felt the earth crawl under her. Suddenly Katara shot up into the air with a cry of surprise and fright and landed right on top of Sokka.

"That's it!" Sokka yelled throwing Katara aside, "How is a guy supposed to sleep with all this yelling and earth quaking!" Lanse sat up and pulled her blankets up to cover her mouth, trying to hide a smile. These guys are out on a journey to save the world, and yet they still acted so much like kids. Sometimes she even forgets that she's younger than Sokka.

Suddenly she stilled hearing Toph lower the wall of her earth tent, "That thing is back!" she said urgently.

"Awww, how far away is it? Maybe we can just close our eyes and pretend it's not there until it goes away?" Sokka groaned, laying back and covering himself completely in his blankets.

"I don't think that going to work Sokka," and replied looking behind them. Lanse followed his eyes and saw a large cloud of smoke close by. Lansed groaned and slowly got to her feet, wrapping herself in her blankets. She was tired, stiff and really was content to just stand there; but she felt a tug on the back of her shirt, and before she could do anything she was being dragged across the ground towards Appa. She had stiffened at first, not comfortable with being dragged or having someone that close, but eventually she shrugged, content with not having to walk.

"Seriously, what is that thing?" Katara asked looking over the back of Appa's saddle after they were in the air.

"And how does it keep finding us?" Toph put in, sitting next to Katara. Lanse crawled over to look at the strange, tank-like machines as well.

"Not to mention, do they ever sleep?" she asked, glaring back at Sokka who was snoring.

"I don't know, but I'm gunna make sure we lose them this time," Aang said increasing Appa's speed.

When the group finially touched down on top of a mountain Appa fell over on his side, dumping everyone out of his saddle. Lanse landed on top of Sokka, who let out an "oohf!" sound.

"Okay," Sokka said pushing Lanse off onto the ground, "Let's forget about setting camp and try to get some sleep."

"Good, cause Toph wasn't going to help anyway," Lanse groaned and buried her head in her blanket as Toph and Katara once again started arguing.

"Come on guys, let's just get some sleep, we don't even know who's following us." Aang pleaded. Lanse stopped listening as the group continued joking. Everyone was tired, bags showing under their eyes, and the tank was obviously after the Avatar. Maybe it would be best if she left, she wasn't helping them out any and she didn't know how much longer she could put up with not sleeping. However, she was interrupted from her thoughts by Momo chattering urgently.

"Oh, don't tell me," Sokka groaned.

"There's no way they could have tracked us up here!" Aang said unbelievingly.

"Maybe we're all hallucinating?" Lanse suggested, finding it completely possible at this point.

"No, I can feel it with my own two feet,"Aang ran out to the ledge, with the rest of the group following closely behind to see the machine coming towards them.

Lanse sighed deeply, "I'll go get the blankets," she wanted to lie back down as soon as possible.

"Wait, maybe we should see if they're friendly." Aang suggested.

"Always the optimist," Sokka groaned. Just then, the machine stopped and three girls emerged from the steaming opening.

"It's those three girls from Omashu!" Katara cried.

"We can take them," Toph said, everyone getting into a fighting stance, "Three on three."

"Uhh, actually Toph, there's four of us," Sokka said. Lanse's eyebrow twitches at being excluded twice.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't count you. You know, no bending and all."

"I CAN STILL FIGHT!" Sokka yelled, his face turning red.

"Fine, three-on-three-plus-Sokka."

"Hey! What about me?" Lanse threw in at last.

"And Lanse," Toph said, rolling her eyes.

The three girls were running towards them now and Toph sent out rocks to stop them, but their lizard mounts just crawled over them, not missing a step.

"Well we wanted to know who they are, and we found out, so let's get out of here." All but Toph ran back to Appa and climbed up quickly.

Lanse watched in shock as one of the girls shot lightning at the rock wall that Toph had created. Another girl shot arrows through the opening from her sleeve and Toph brought up a boulder underneath her feet. Blocking the arrows and shooting herself back onto Appa; however, two of the arrows missed the boulder and came flying back towards the group. Lanse jumped up and, in a flash, knocked the arrows out of the air.

"Still think it's three plus Lanse?" she looked back at Toph, smirking.

:End: 

**Chapter 2 is done! I thought I would be able to write one chapter for each episode, but I don't think it'll work out quite that well, but I promise that I'll get the next chapter up sooner! What do you think of Lanse, eh? Go non-benders! Please review! Flames will be used to heat up the rest of the cookies for my lovely subscribers!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Nothing like a review to inspire you to write! =D My summer has somehow become unbelievably busy but I still promise at least one chapter a week, hopefully 2. So, since I don't know what else to say…LET'S GET STARTED! Chapter 3! **

**Still down own Avatar =(**

"So what's our plan?" Aang asked. Lanse let out a little groan, so tired that she barely heard him.

"Don't know…too tired to think." Toph moaned.

Lanse stopped listening and started nodding off, but before she was completely asleep she started getting the sensation of falling.

"Hey guys!" she yelled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"What's going on!" Toph asked, grabbing the saddle tightly.

"Appa fell asleep!" Aang jumped up towards Appa's face, trying to get him to wake up. Lanse looked over the side of the saddle and felt sick when she saw the ground quickly approaching. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold on to the saddle and the contents of her stomach at the same time while Appa pulled up at the last minute. They crash landed near a lake and Lanse rolled out of the saddle onto the ground.

"Appa's exhausted," Aang sighed.

"He's not the only one," Lanse curled up on the ground again, not even bothering to move.

"Okay, we should have at least some distance between us, let's just follow Appa's lead and get some sleep." Sokka said, curling up near Lanse.

"Of course, we could've gotten some sleep earlier, if Toph didn't have such issues." Lanse groaned again and covered her face with her arms, shutting out the other girls' bickering; she tried to fall back asleep, but finally gave up and shook herself awake as she heard Toph say:

"I'm out of here."

"Wait!" Sokka cried, standing in Toph's way, but she just pushed him aside with a small train of rocks.

"What did I just do! I can't believe I yelled at my Earthbending teacher. Now she's gone." Aang said, pulling his non-existent hair in frustration.

"I know. We're all just trying to get used to each other. And I was so mean to her." Katara said gravely.

"Yeah, you two were pretty much jerks" Sokka said sitting next to Lanse who was nodding in agreement.

"Thanks guys, but you two aren't exactly barrels full of sunshine either."

Lanse opened her mouth to argue, but Aang intervened, "Come on guys! Let's not start, right now we need to lose the girls who are chasing us, and I have a plan."

"Toph was right." Aang said after they were done washing Appa, "The fur was leaving a trail right to us. But now that he's clean, no more trail."

Katara still looked concerned, "Are you sure he's okay to fly?"

"He'll be fine as long as we leave his saddle and all our stuff here. I'm going to use Appa's fur to make a fake trail and lead the tank off-course." Aang said and turned to fly away.

"Aang wait!" Lanse called.

"What?" he asked, landing again.

"I've been thinking," she began awkwardly; "maybe it'd be best if I left too."

"What do you mean it'd be best?" Sokka asked.

"Aang said it himself, Appa had no problem flying with just three people, and even if he's only having problems cause he's tired I'm still an extra person for him to carry."

"But Lanse, I'm sure we could find another way, and it's not safe," Katara said stepping forward and putting a hand on Lanse's shoulder.

"I know, but you guys don't need me, and they're after you guys, not me. I'm thankful that you saved me, but now I'm just in the way, and it's time I moved on anyway." Lanse stepped back and crossed her arms with a look of determination in her eyes. Aang sighed and looked back at her; she smiled and waved so he took off with his bag of fur, accepting defeat.

"You guys should get going too," she said quietly to Katara and Sokka. She waved and watched them fly off, Appa breaking some tree tops on the way, before she turned around a little sadly and started walking back into the forest.

: Scene Change! :

After leaving the group behind, Lanse wandered around in the forest for a while, not knowing where to go. She didn't know why she had left the group behind, yeah she was a bit of a burden, but is that really why she left? Or was it just becoming a habit to be alone? As she stumbled farther and farther away from the last place she had seen the gang her mood grew darker and darker. Could it be that she actually missed them?

"Uuurgh!" she growled, shaking her head, "What are you thinking? You're a loner, friends are only people to loose!"

She continued her clumsy trudge through the woods until she finally came to a clearing with tire-like treads running through it. She stumbled towards them, but as soon as she reached them her vision began to swim. She felt herself wobble and knew that the exhaustion and lack of sleep had finally caught up to her, and she couldn't go on any more. Right before she hit the ground she wondered who would find her this time, if someone found her…

: POV/Scene Change! :

Zuko pulled hard on the reins, causing his Ostrich-horse (is it an ostrich-horse?) to stop. He dismounted and walked cautiously over to the mysterious figure lying near the tracks he had been following. He was surprised and confused to see a girl dressed in clothes from every nation, and had bags under her eyes that made it seem as though she hadn't slept in days. He began to turn away to go back to his Ostrich-horse, but stopped. It just…didn't feel right to leave the girl there. He found himself thinking about something happening to the girl and feeling guilty. Finally, he sighed and gently picked up the girl, angry at himself for caring about this stranger, and mounted his Ostrich-horse, placing the girl in front of him.

He knew the girl might get in the way, but he decided that if she was still unconscious by the time he caught up with his sister, he would find a safe place to leave her.

: POV Change…Again! (I just felt like the story needed some Zuko awesome-ness!) :

Lanse was woken by the feeling of movement. She didn't open her eyes right away, thinking that she had just fallen asleep while riding on Appa, but she became confused when she realized the movement was wrong. It wasn't the easy, floating movement of flying, but the hard, rhythmic movement of running. Then, it all started coming back to her; she had left the group and passed out, and judging by the feeling of running and of a person behind her, she assumed that someone had indeed found her.

She kept her eyes clothes, but when she realized that she was leaning against the other rider she tensed instinctively, uncomfortable being so close.

"Are you awake?" she heard a male voice ask, she could tell he was now looking down at her by the hot breath she felt near her ear. She groaned and opened her eyes, squinting against the light.

"Wh-where am I?" she asked, deciding it would be better to act disoriented for now.

She felt the mount come to a stop and the heat and support of the stranger behind her vanish. She was surprised to find herself wobbling now that she was no longer being supported, and thought she might fall, but a strong hand was pressed against her back, supporting her.

"Thanks," she mumbled, suddenly feeling sick. She swung her leg over the side and slide down off the, what she now realized was an Ostrich-horse. The second her feet hit the ground she felt strong hands grab her shoulders, steadying her. She stood there for a moment, trying to get her bearings while ignoring her instincts screaming to get away from the stranger's touch.

"Are you alright?" she heard him ask.

She took a few deep breaths before answering, "I've been better, but I think I'll live." She took one more deep breath and straightened, finally looking at her "savior." When she saw the scar on the left side of his face her hand instantly went to her left hip, her own scar hidden beneath her clothes.

She saw the stranger's eyes widen, and she knew one of the many familiar questions would soon come her way.

"Who are you?"

Lanse narrowed her blue eyes, "My name is Lanse, what's yours?"

"Li, where are you from?"

"Nowhere, I'm a traveler. You?"

"Same."

They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment before Lanse broke the tension with a wolfish grin, "Well, thank you for saving me Li!"

"Uh, no problem," Li mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "So, where are you headed?"

A thoughtful look passed over Lanse's face, "I don't know really. I was lost, which is why you found me out here, so I kinda figured I'd just find the nearest town and go from there."

Li looked down the tracks that Lanse only noticed now that they were standing by. A frustrated look came into his eyes, as if he was trying to decide what to do.

"You can come with me, but if we run into the people that made these tracks, you have to promise to stay out of my way."

Lanse looked down at the tracks, again having to decide whether or not to trust her "savior." Finally, she shrugged, they obviously had a common enemy and trust hadn't done her much harm the last time.

"I'll go with you," she sighed, "I've got nothing better to do."

Li's eyebrow twitched at that, but he just motioned for her to get up on the Ostrich-horse, ready to help her if she slipped. She got up without any problems, but when Li jumped up behind her she tensed up yet again.

"Why do you do that?" Li asked, snapping the reins and setting their mount to a trot.

"Do what?" Lanse asked, confused but having an idea of what he was asking.

"Why do you tense up every time I touch you?"

"Oh, that? I travel on my own, and between thieves and the fire nation, it's just instinct now."

Li just nodded and stayed silent. It didn't take long for them to reach a clearing and see the small mining town in the distance. As they got closer Lanse could tell it was abandoned. Li stopped the Ostrich-horse and motioned for her to get down and stay quiet, and he followed once she was out of the way. She followed silently as he crept up to an old building with a back door and walked inside.

Once inside Lanse realized that she could hear voices from outside and one sounded familiar. She looked to Li, confused, but he only motioned her to stay put and be quiet.

"Do you really want to fight me?" she heard a female voice ask. Just then, Li burst through the front door, "Yes, I really do," he said.

Lanse ran to the door after Li to find him, Aang, and one of the girl's that were following them facing off.

"Zuko!" Aang shouted, Lanse stiffened as she heard the name.

"I was wondering when you'd show up, Zuzu," the girl said with a snear.

Aang snickered, "Zuzu?" he asked, but swung his head around when he heard a snort of laughter from the doorway Zuko had just come from. "Lanse?" he asked, confused.

Zuko looked over at his temporary traveling partner and wondered how she knew the Avatar, but pushed the thought away, looking back to Azula, "Back off, Azula! He's mine!"

"I'm not going anywhere." Azula said angrily.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Zuko lunged forward, shooting fire at her. Lanse saw Zuko get hit and fly back, and Aang trying to run and dodge Azula's attacks, but the rest was all a blur as she dodged misfired attacks that came her way.

When Lanse could take in her surroundings again she saw Aang caught under rubble and cornered by Azula, she began running towards Azula, but was stopped when Azula was suddenly trapped by water.

"Katara!" Aang yelled as they saw the familiar waterbender.

Azula tried to chase Katara out of the building, but was cornered by Sokka, Katara, Aang, and Lanse, who had finally managed to get accustomed to battle again. They chased Azula into an alley, Katara and Aang firing shots while Lanse and Sokka brought up the rear. Suddenly, the ground shoots up from behind and Azula fell, surprising Lanse.

"I thought you guys could use a little help," she heard tough say, and turned to see the blind earthbender.

"Thanks," Katara said, pleased that she was back.

While the group was distracted, Azula escaped, but as Lanse turned she saw a strange new man cut her off. They all ran over to corner Azula, and Lanse was relieved to see that Zuko was alright.

Azula's words brought Lanse back to the battle, "Well, look at this. Enemies and traitors, all working together. I'm done. I know when I'm beaten. You got me. A princess surrenders with honor."

Lanse could feel everyone around her relax slightly, but she stayed tense, something just seemed off to her. Just then, a bolt of lightning shot out from Azula's fingers, hitting the old man. Zuko let out a distraught yell, and all the benders: fire, water, earth, and air, attacked Azula at once.

When the smoke finally cleared she could see the town around them on fire, and Azula gone. Zuko ran over to the old man, letting out another distraught cry.

"Get away from us!" he yelled as the group approached.

"Zuko, I can help," Katara said, stepping forward.

Zuko turned and blasted fire, "LEAVE!" he screamed.

The group backed away from Zuko slowly, but Lanse stayed for a moment longer, looking sadly at the man who had saved her, before backing away with the rest of them.

**YAY! I'm done with chapter 3 and finally done with episode 28! This chapter is a lot longer than the first two, too! Sorry if the fight scene at the end was a little rough, but the majority of the story is written from Lanse's point of view, but since she can't bend and wouldn't have had much of a place in an epic bending battle I had to be a bit vague with it. I hope you enjoyed! Please review! Flames will be used to attack Azula for shooting poor Iroh with lightening! =(**


	4. Chapter 4

**I am at last moving on to episode 29 "Bitter Work"! You know, I almost didn't update this chapter on time because I wasn't inspired to write *wink wink-nudge nudge*. Also, I plan to make this story follow the episode timeline, but I don't want it to follow the plot line too closely. I've already thrown Lanse into the mix and have planted seeds between her and Zuko(this doesn't necessarily mean romance), but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions how Lanse can change the story line even more. I'll try to make this chapter longer like the last one, and I hope you enjoy!**

**I don't own Avatar! =P **

Lanse ran down the dark alley, her breath coming in shallow gasps. She glanced back behind her, seeing the wall of fire quickly approaching. She pumped her tiny legs faster, shoe-less feet slapping painfully against the cold stone. She panicked, trying desperately to get away from the approaching flames, but knowing beep down that it was no use, that the flames would eventually reach her.

She turned a corner and saw the end of the alley ahead of her and she quickened her pace, reaching for the last hope that she had. As she broke free of the suffocating walls she had to stop short, nearly falling of the ledge that appeared in front of her. She looked down, expecting to see an ocean of water, but cried out in terror as she instead saw a sea of flames. She turned around, trying to find another way to run, but froze when she saw that the fire had escaped the alley as well, leaving no means of escape. She stepped back as the fire came closer, she kept creeping backwards until she felt the ledge at her heels. She let out another cry, realizing she was trapped; trapped and alone, knowing that no matter how hard she tried to escape the pain would come, the fire would reach her.

"Today's the day! Can you believe it? After all that time searching for a teacher, I'm finally starting Earthbending! And this place, it's perfect, don't you think? Sokka?" Lanse shot upright, being pulled from her nightmare by Aang's sudden burst of talking. She took a deep breath and rubbed her eye, trying to hide the after effects of her dream….make that nightmare.

"Goooood morning, Earthbending student!" Toph yelled, erupting from her earth tent.

Lanse groaned and lay back, pulling the blanket over her head. She knew she wouldn't be able to get to sleep again, but she really did hate the noise this early in the morning.

"Good morning, Sifu Toph." Aang said bowing.

"Hey," Katara said, disappointed, "You never call me Sifu Katara!"

"Well, if you think I should…."

Sokka rolled over in his sleeping bag and glared at them, grumbling.

"Sorry snoozles, we'll do our training as quietly as we can." Lanse peeked out from under her blankets as she felt the ground rumble a little. She saw some rocks pop up out of the ground and fling Sokka into the air. Lanse tried to suppress a laugh as Sokka jumped back up off the ground, still in his sleeping bag, and grumbled before hopping away. Lanse thought about following his lead and began to get up, but was stopped by her foot being incased in Earth.

"Oh, no you don't," Toph said, releasing her foot and sending her falling forward, arms pin-wheeling. "I saw you in that fight before, all you were doing was dodging. You need to get back into fighting condition!"

Lanse groaned, she had to admit, it had been awhile since she was in a fight, and her skills become kind of dull. Alright, who was she kidding? Lanse had been kicking herself on this inside after almost drowning in a fight with Firebenders, and not being able to hold her own in the last fight.

"Fine," she groaned, turning her back and standing there until she had to move.

"So, what are you going to teach me first?" Aang asked enthusiastically. "Rockalanche? Trembler? Oh! A whirlpool out of land!"

"Let's start with…move a rock."

"Sounds good, sounds good!" Aang yelled as Toph walked over to Lanse, about to drag the taller girl along by her collar. She had thought that Lanse was daydreaming and didn't know she was there, so she was surprised when Lanse suddenly ducked forward and stepped back right under her arm.

"I'm not that rusty!" She yelled over her shoulder as she turned and ran away from Toph, sticking her tongue out.

: Scene Change! :

While the others went to watch Toph and Aang, Lanse wandered through the canyon they were staying in until she found a small pond. She stripped down to her underclothes found a long, strong reed before stepping into the water. She liked training in water because it made everything harder. As she went through the familiar movements with her make-shift staff she had to use twice the effort, making her faster when she moved on land.

She was just beginning to shift into a more difficult stance, her muscles screaming in protest when she felt a sudden weight on her back and a loud chattering in her ear. She let out a yelp and fell back on her butt with a splash. She sat up and pulled her now soaked hair out of her face, and saw Momo, desperately trying to cling to her knee and stay out of the water. She glared at the lemur for a moment before giving up and laughing, something she didn't do very often. She joked around a lot and would…chuckle, but not often laughing outright.

She picked up the little creature fondly and carried him over to dry land, scratching his head before turning back towards the center of the pond. However, before she could start wading through the water her reflection caught her eye. She reached down and touched the scar on her left hip, it started just above her shorts and ended just below her mid-thigh. She looked at it sadly, remembering the day she had been burned…

"Hey, Lanse!" Lanse gasped and turned around, sitting, more like falling, into the water; soaking herself again and hiding her leg.

"Hey, guys!" She said awkwardly, ignoring the strange looks they gave her, "What are you doing here?"

"We were going to work on Aang's waterbending, so he could take a little break." Katar said, stripping to her white underclothes.

"Ah, how's the training going?" Lanse asked, trying to distract them from the fact that she was still sitting in the water.

Aang just grunted, taking off his shirt and stepping into the water.

"Ah, bad," Lanse mumbled to herself.

While Katara and Aang passed a blob of water back and forth, Lanse decided to entertain herself by sitting between them, beneath the blob, so she could look up and follow its movements. She didn't care that this seemed childish, it entertained her and she couldn't get up anyway.

"You know this block you're having is only temporary, right?" Katara asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't want to talk about it." Aang mumbled.

"You do realize that's the problem, don't you? If you face this issue instead of avoiding it…"

"I know, I know, I know! I get it, all right? I have to face it head on like a rock, but I just can't do it. I don't know why I can't, but I can't." Aang interrupted her.

"Aang, if fire and water are opposites, then what's the opposite of air?" Katara asked patiently.

"I guess it's earth," Aang mumbled.

"That's why it's so difficult for you to get this. You're working with your natural opposite!"

"She's right," Lanse said, making them jump because they had almost forgotten she was there.

"It's like Appa and an Ostrich-horse. When Appa's flying his movements flow and are smooth, but an Ostrich-horse's movements and sharp, strong, and rhythmic. And, not matter how you look at them, that's just how they are, and all you can do accept it. Stop fighting it and adjust the rhythm of your body and movements of your body to match the movements of each creature." Katara and Aang stared at Lanse in awe, surprised by the sudden words of wisdom from the sarcastic girl, and amazed that, as she spoke she had seemed to be moving with the blob of water, matching the rhythm of her body to it.

"Think fast!" Katara said suddenly, throwing a grass missile at Aang. Lanse, caught in its path, threw herself to the side, while Aang brought up a blade of water, slicing the grass down the center.

"Excellent. You have the reflexes of a Waterbending master. And don't worry Aang, you'll figure it out. I know you will."

"Thanks, Sifu Katara," Aang said affectionately, bowing. Katara bowed back and Aang made his way towards the shore. "And thanks Lanse! Your advice really helped!" he called back.

"No problem!" Lanse called, waving to his retreating figure.

"You can get out of the water now." Katara said when Aang was gone.

Lanse opened her mouth to make an excuse, but Katara cut her off before she could say anything,

"I know about your scar."

**Okay so it's not as long as the last one, but it's late and it was such a good place to stop! Special thanks to my 5 wonderful reviewers:**

**My fanfiction Mommy- IrkenRuler13**

**I-Love-Avatar**

**Anonymous the Third**

**PrettyKitty24 –I'm not sure if I'm going to put Lanse X Zuko in it. I know! People should let me know if they want me to pair Lanse with anyone in reviews!**

**NaruGirl –I'm sorry, but it will still be awhile yet until it's revealed where she got her scar. At least this gave a bit more information, confirming it's a burn scar.**

**Thank you all for reading. I hope you enjoyed. I will update soon. Flames will be used to fuel Aang's determination to move that rock! Please review! They help me write!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hmm, I haven't updated in a little while, maybe cause I didn't get any reviews on my last chapter! I was lacking inspiration to write because I don't want Lanse to just be stuck in with the other characters and tell a story you already know; I want her to tell her own story, but still be part of the group. I've been thinking, and I've finally figured out how I'm going to do this, so if you have for some reason gotten this far and are thinking that you don't like Lanse just being an observer, I promise that will change soon! REVIEW! **

"I know about your scar," Katara said.

Lanse unconsciously put her hand on her left hip under the water, "You saw it, eh?"

Katara nodded gravely and watched as Lanse stood up stiffly, Katara's eyes widened, she had forgotten how large the scar actually was.

"How…how did it happen?"

Lanse smirked, though her usual humor never reached her eyes, "You're not the only one whose been hurt by the Fire Nation. I got this scar the same day I lost someone dear to me."

"Oh Lanse, I'm so sorry," Katara moved forward to hug her, but the other girl shied away from her touch. Katara noticed she often did that.

For a moment they stood there in silence, neither knowing what to say next.

"So…I heard Toph say you're kinda rusty on your fighting skills. I know I'm a Waterbender, but we can still train if I go easy."

This time when Lanse smirked at her all the humor was back in her eyes, "You don't even have to hold back."

"If you say so," Katara said, turning her back on Lanse. She turned back quickly, pushing a wave of water where she had last seen the other girl, but was surprised to find her gone. She remained in her stance, her eyes darting warily. She was about to lower her guard when she heard a light splash behind her. She turned just in time to jump backwards away from the make-shift-reed-staff that was swung less than an inch from her nose.

She brought up a blade of water, again pushing it towards Lanse, but she brought up her staff; swinging it much like Aang would, and broke apart the blade. Using the momentum from her previous movement Lanse slammed her staff into the muddy bottom of the pond; she used it as an anchor to swing herself around, her foot almost making contact with Katara's stomach.

Katara saw this move coming and brought up a small tower of water around Lanse's foot and froze it. Lanse gasped, trying to free herself from the ice, but when she was only set further off balance she stopped. She took a deep breath and shifted her free-foot back and positioned her arms in a very earthbender-like stance; suddenly, she brought her fist down as if she was going to bend the earth, but unlike earthbenders, her fist actually made contact with the ice. Surprisingly, the ice shattered causing Lanse to fall backwards. Katara didn't miss a beat, she brought up tendrils of water around Lanse, planning on using them to restrain her, but Lanse was already in a crouching position. She moved her hands and arms around her body; much like a waterbender would, blocking the tendrils that surrounded her.

When Katara momentarily released the water, preparing to bend it into a different form, Lanse rolled towards her, swinging her foot out and knocking Katar down into the water; when Katara looked up she was surprised to see Lanse standing over her, in a firebending stance.

"Well, the only thing I haven't seen you do so far is actually bend something," Katara said with sarcasm.

Lanse let out a snort and offered Katara her hand, "Yeah, wouldn't that be interesting."

The girls enjoyed a moment of friendly silence while Katara caught her breath; however, Katara noticed something she couldn't quite believe at first: Lanse wasn't out of breath. Yes, Katara herself wasn't _that_ out of breath, but Lanse had been moving around much more than she had during their "fight," and she expected the girl to at least be a little winded.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Katara asked, choosing to keep her earlier observation to herself.

Lanse smiled almost…sadly, "I learned from the different people I've traveled with. I learned different aspects to all of the bending styles and taught myself how to put them together in a way that works."

"That's amazing! I've never heard of anyone fighting like that!"

"That's good," Lanse winked, "keeps 'em guessing."

They dried off and got dressed, wondering off to find Sokka. They looked all around their camp and the surrounding area, but couldn't seem to find him anywhere.

"I'm worried," Katara said, "Let's go tell Aang." Lanse only shrugged and followed Katara.

When they found Aang he was meditating on a rock, though Lanse noticed he still seemed pretty tense.

"Hey Aang, have you seen…" before she could finish Aang jumped up, obviously frudtrated.

"Meditating here!" he snapped.

"It's Sokka," Lanse hissed. "No one's seen him all day."

Aang's face became one of worry as he stepped towards Katara, "Don't worry, we'll find him, but it'd be faster if we split up."

Lanse and Katara nodded, the three of them all going in separate ways. As Lanse wandered around through the canyon she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about Katara seeing her scar. She wasn't embarrassed by it; she just didn't like people knowing about it. It had become habit to hide the large scar years ago, and to have that habit broken was just a bit…unnerving.

Lanse was just about to turn a corner leading to a somewhat large when a hand shot out and grabbed her. As soon as she felt the touch on her she instantly recognized it as Toph's. She turned to ask that younger girl what the bid idea was when Toph put her lips and pointed around the corner. There Lanse saw a strange scene; Aang was trying to airbend Sokka, who had somehow gotten stuck in a crack in the ground. While they stared at each other, a small, strange, fluff animal circled around them.

She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she heard a strange rumbling sound and heard a growl. When she saw the saber-tooth-moose-lion, she wanted to run and help Aang, but Toph help her back. She looked at the little earthbender curiously and sat back to watch. Aang held his ground, and drove off the beast with a blast of air, protecting himself and Sokka.

Toph walked out from behind the corner, clapping, while I followed.

"What are you two doing here?" Sokka asked.

"Enjoying the show," Toph replied, voice thick with sarcasm.

"What? You two were there the whole time?" Aang asked.

"Pretty much," Lanse nodded in agreement.

Lanse could tell that Aang was angry that Toph didn't help them, especially after she had been getting on his nerves all day. She was surprised though, when Toph yelled at Aang to earthbend. Aang hit the ground and send a boulder flying into the side of the canyon.

"Congradulations! You're an earthbender." Toph said.

Lanse suddenly looked away from the group, feeling out of place. Benders, eh? Such trouble bending could bring…

**Sorry if the end is kinda…rushed, and I'm sure the grammar mistakes are endless, but I was determined to get this written, so I was half asleep while writing the end. XD I don't mean to sound pushy or desperate, but I really do like reviews, and they help me wright faster! SO PWEASE REVIEW~!**

**If you do you get to Zuko's smexy long hair even faster! ;D**


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